In a news conference, the Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector Jonathan Attard and the Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reforms Rebecca Buttigieg explained the reforms proposed in the public consultation ‘Nagħtu Second Chance’.
During this conference it was explained that the main element of the reform is that the people who have served the sentence and then paid for their mistake, will be able to request a supplementary certificate of conduct that contains an account of the behavior and of the programs that the person has followed while serving the sentence to be rehabilitated.
“In this public consultation we are putting forward proposals with the aim of discussing and achieving a reform that will give a second chance to those people among us who have made a mistake, but have shown the will and zeal to they will not make the same mistake again,” said Minister Jonathan Attard, while reaffirming the government’s commitment to, as it has done in recent years, continue to carry out unprecedented reforms and investment in the justice sector to have a society where everyone be accountable for his actions.
“It is unfortunate that you have people who have reformed and rehabilitated themselves, with their will and will, and the help of agencies, foundations, organizations and unions and still find the doors closed when they come to integrate back into the world of work. For this reason we felt that we had to propose this reform that testifies to the progressive ideology that we embrace as a government. With the participation of the public with this consultation we can continue to build a society based on empathy, compassion, tolerance and respect,” concluded Minister Attard.
The Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg said that the Ordinance on certificates of conduct was made 91 years ago and over the years it has been revised 20 times to be updated according to the needs and realities of the moment. She said that this should serve for the employer to have a complete picture of the people who apply for a job. At the same time it will serve as an incentive for people in prison to follow the programs being made for them by the Correctional Services Agency and by NGOs working in this field.
The parliamentary secretary said that another proposal of the White Paper is to reduce the period that certain crimes no longer appear in the certificate of conduct. She added that serious crimes will remain registered forever in the conduct and every crime will continue to be registered in the Penal Fedina.
“The government wants to give a second chance, it is doing so with caution and in an appropriate balance that society expects. The proposals of this White Paper are the result of a preliminary consultation with various entities. I appeal to the associations and the public to take part with their ideas and proposals in this public consultation which closes on May 29,” concluded Parliamentary Secretary Buttigieg.
